Steam Deck (handheld from Valve) - shipping is 4-8 days from NL to UK

[Camel]

I guess PS3 instructions would just take too long ticalculate.

[The Mighty Ash]

1 hour ago, Lyrical Donut said:

 

Personally I can't wait to get mine and get a PS3 emulator on there for some Daytona 500.

 

Something to do on rainy dayz.

[Mr. Gerbik]

43 minutes ago, Camel said:

Funny how almost everything that pre-dates PS3 is easier to emulate. Can it be that it was all so simple then?

A developer I know once told me that programming for the esoteric PS3 was a right bastard 'cause there ain't no father to its style

[mushashi]

1 hour ago, Camel said:

Funny how almost everything that pre-dates PS3 is easier to emulate. Can it be that it was all so simple then?

 

The Xboxes are hardly emulated to a very high compatible standard, and one of them is practically the OG x86 DirectX-PC in a box, but then again, even Microsoft have hardly managed anywhere close to complete emulation of the Xbox's software library, despite it being ancient at this point in time. The comparative Sony consoles are better emulated than their Microsoft equivalents by enthusiasts.

 

Nintendo consoles are a piece of piss to emulate compared to the competition, despite being newer.

 

 

21 hours ago, Mogster said:

I think your info is a bit out of date regarding Win32 XGP releases, as @thesnwmn says. Even if it weren't though, just about every XGP game also get's a Win32 Steam release these days, including Xbox Game Studios releases: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/XboxGameStudios

 

I still don't think it's likely, but I don't think it's completely outside the realms of possibility these days. I also don't think it's much of a big deal for me personally though. I'd still play most PC games on my desktop with a big screen, and I'd obviously pick the XGP version in that case without a good reason not to. I'd definitely buy more games on Steam rather than play the XGP version if it suited the Deck better though.

 

They've officially deprecated UWP, but its legacy lives on and the Microsoft Store versions of games aren't the same as normal Win32 versions found on every single other game distribution platform available on the PC so whatever bullshit Microsoft insist on lives on.

 

The reason why people want it to come to Valve's service is simply because a lot of people don't want to put up with the potential headaches that XGP for PC has so they want to have their cake and eat it too, but as I said, there is no business reason for Microsoft to pay Valve to be a middleman and duplicate work, while EA's angle is free extra money and a chance to upsell potential subscribers to a more profitable subscription.

[Mr. Gerbik]

At the end of the day, all those platform holders are looking for supreme clientele to sell their wares to, subs or otherwise.

[dreamylittledream]

3 hours ago, Camel said:

Funny how almost everything that pre-dates PS3 is easier to emulate. Can it be that it was all so simple then?

The contemporary 360 and the post dated WiiU emulate a lot easier so I think it’s more down to the quirks of the PS3 architecture.

 

Even Sony can’t reliably emulate it on their latest hardware 

[thesnwmn]

7 hours ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

I'm not so sure. I wonder whether it stands a chance among a wider audience or that the Deck will bomb atomically.

I think it stands next to no chance of really being a massive success outside of existing Steam/PC gamers or those quite engaged in gaming communities like this.

 

I don’t think that means it will be a failure or anything. I think there’s room for it to sell well and be successful but for it to really win any mindshare outside of a very specific audience it needs to be plastered over socials and media ads. At the moment though I’m sure they’ll sell every one they make so it doesn’t really matter.

 

I think it’s long term success really depends on what they’ll do with it after a year or so. With all back orders done can I go to Argos or Amazon to get one? Will it always be only on Steam? Will there be follow ups to increase power every few years?

 

Im sure I’ll get one at some point because gaming on the go, even if it is on the sofa, appeals more to me then big screen these days. But at the same time I struggle to see most people getting onboard in the way of a classic console or the Switch.

[simms]

Yeah no way this will do Switch numbers

[jonamok]

Of course it won’t. And if it did it would likely bankrupt GabeN.

 

You don’t have to be Michael Pachter (lol) to know this device serves a very enthusiastic niche audience. And that’s absolutely fine.

[moosegrinder]

I honestly don't think it's expected to. Aside from the Switch numbers being ridiculous it's not got mass market appeal. Valve know exactly their core audience is and it'll do great because of that.

[phresh]

The key for Valve will be if it delivers incremental software sales over time. You'll probably get a new device peak, as we buy more games when we update/build a pc but it will be if that sustains over a longer period of time. I think the success of indie games on the Switch (and others) may be one of the drivers behind this, I certainly haven't bought any on the PC since I got one, but have still picked up some of the bigger games not on Switch. And this is with a PC sat under the same TV the Switch is connected to.

 

It's the portable nature that appeals, i've used Steam Links but don't find them quite reliable enough (moonlight on a laptop seemed to work a lot better for whatever reason) but to be able to drop this into a dock connected to any screen would be great.

[simms]

So excited for the possibility of portable emulation this will provide.  I didn't realise there are so many portable emulation machines on the market and the Steam Deck is a wonderful addition to that market which mush be quite sizeable for all these manufacturers to get in on the action.  They must be quietly fearful that Valve decided to enter the race.*

 

* I know emulation is not the primary purpose but I be many will using it for emulation, especially with the power it provides for emulating demanding games

[Fry Crayola]

I imagine a big part of this is that Gabe still doesn't want Steam to be tied to Windows, if Microsoft decide again to try and go down the Apple route of restricting apps to their store.

 

The Steam Boxes didn't work out because they were expensive, had a reduced catalogue, and only really served an already niche audience of people who wanted to play PC games but didn't want to install Windows to do so. A Steam Deck is a different offering - it's cheap, it serves as a single hardware base to really take Proton further in the compatability stakes, but crucially it's offering something that existing Windows PC players can't already do in portable gaming. You need to buy new hardware to do that, and Valve's offering is more attractive than the other options.

 

Whether or not this latest push into Linux is actually needed in the future is another matter.

[Dudley]

19 hours ago, Camel said:

Funny how almost everything that pre-dates PS3 is easier to emulate. Can it be that it was all so simple then?

 

The Saturn is harder than the Dreamcast.

 

The Deck isn't close to quick enough to do 100% PS3 on everything I'm afraid.

[Camel]

The Stark truth.

[Calashnikov]

I’m pretty new to emulation and PC gaming in general. I might need like 8 diagrams to figure it out.

[Calashnikov]

One thing about the Steam ecosystem is the crazy assortment of smaller, low-key games. Can’t wait to properly meet the indie culture.

[Mr. Gerbik]

I'm hoping that making PC indies more accessible with the Deck, will mean a better tomorrow for PC gaming.

[Mr. Gerbik]

I have no intention of upgrading my old dirty gaming rig, but with the Steam Deck I'll be there for it and hope it's all I need to get by. If it isn't, I'll be like what the blood clot after all the promises in the current previews.

[amc]

PS2 isn't anywhere near perfect to emulate either. Plenty of games run ok but plenty have lots of issues. That was the case the last time I was messing around emulating it anyway, earlier this year. That was with a 5ghz I9 9900.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Wait a minute, I thought the Deck would be able to handle PS3 emulation? If I try it, will it end in tearz?

[Mogster]

 

18 hours ago, mushashi said:

They've officially deprecated UWP, but its legacy lives on and the Microsoft Store versions of games aren't the same as normal Win32 versions found on every single other game distribution platform available on the PC so whatever bullshit Microsoft insist on lives on.

 

The reason why people want it to come to Valve's service is simply because a lot of people don't want to put up with the potential headaches that XGP for PC has so they want to have their cake and eat it too, but as I said, there is no business reason for Microsoft to pay Valve to be a middleman and duplicate work, while EA's angle is free extra money and a chance to upsell potential subscribers to a more profitable subscription.

 

My point was that even taking packaged apps into account, even Microsoft release their games on Steam in (presumably?) Win32 format. That duplication of work is already happening.

 

I still can't see it happening for a while, if at all, but if things got to a point where the Steam deck resulted in a significant loss of XGP subscribers I wouldn't say it was out of the question, even if it was an EA style limited version. Get XGS games on Steam (which, again, are already there) with your XGP subscription or something, while relying on cloud streaming for the rest or something.

[amc]

Good ol' crafty Ken had the foresight to fuck with us dirty emulator fiddlers by designing some quantum realm style baffling chipsets. He's laughing into his sake. 

[Mr. Gerbik]

Ken brings the pain

 

[Calashnikov]

I must say, the portable handheld form factor of the Steam Deck has really sold the idea of PC gaming to me. The immobilarity of a massive desktop computer was always a bit prohibitive for me.

[amc]

On a serious note, I was looking over my Steam library and I've got some absolute bangers that will be perfect for this. Tons of indie gems, an absolute cornucopia of found nowhere else PC shit.

 

One game I love but haven't given the play time it deserves and that I can't wait to install, is the fantastic Wipeout clone BallisticNG. That's never seen the light of day outside of Steam. Fuck, I'm giddy just thinking of that particular pairing. Super, super recommended.

 

Role on Q1.

 

EDIT. Shit, just saw that BallisticNG is heading to the Switch at some point. Oh well, good, the more who play that game the better and the Steam version will always be king, thanks to mods etc.

 

A vid for anyone unfamiliar.

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

3 minutes ago, Calashnikov said:

I must say, the portable handheld form factor of the Steam Deck has really sold the idea of PC gaming to me. The immobilarity of a massive desktop computer was always a bit prohibitive for me.

Exactly. Living in the world today, a traditional rig is our only option. But so far investigative reports say the Deck will be a viable alternative.

[Sane]

I'm hoping for the same, the deck as a replacement for my old pc. I have an ancient i5 / GTX 970 combo that's slowly dying and buying something new seems utterly impossible and/or prohibitively expensive. Aside from its use as a portable I'm expecting/hoping the deck to be able to run things the same or better than my 970 hooked up to my 1080p TV , which is good enough for me. 

[Hitcher]

 

First party Microsoft title now on Steam.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Noob question, since I'm completely new to this Linux lark. If I want to dabble in different regions of the Steam Store, can I just change the region in my settings? Or do I need to mess about with a VPN, or would a straightforward rebel DNS be enough?